Can lost time be found?
With money problems and the potential loss of their home looming, Anne, a recently widowed former principal dancer, steels herself to sell a beloved lake that has been in her family for generations. Will, her grown son who has Down syndrome, is in need of urgent cardiac surgery. Over a summer weekend, Joe, a younger dancer whose professional life Anne has shaped, visits her after a long absence. During a long alcohol fueled night together, Joe reminds Anne of her foregone world, wooing her to return to her former company’s dance school in New York City. When Anne’s options for retaining her home narrow, and the hope of a new life she has imagined for herself and Will fade, she makes the only choice she sees for them.
SYNOPSIS
The idea of agency, and when agency is lost in a cognitively limited individual is central to this play.
When I was in training as a young doctor, I was profoundly unsettled by a mother of an adult son who had Down Syndrome that had given him significant cognitive limitations. He was also in urgent need of cardiac surgery. His mother did not want him to undergo surgery because an unsuccessful operation could mean his death, while a successful one would likely mean that he would outlive her and be institutionalized - a life she saw as hellish for him.
On a lighter, personal note, I am a rabid swimmer whose pond in upstate New York turned out to be on a neighbor’s property. At the time I was writing this I was obsessed with the possibility that I would lose access to my swimming hole.
BACKGROUND ON THE PLAY
Anne Hamilton Walsh – early 60’s. A still regal dancer.
Will Walsh – mid 20’s. Anne’s son with Down Syndrome.
Emily Walsh – early 60’s. Anne’s sister-in-law. A practical social worker.
Joe Walsh – 40ish. A charismatic dancer.
Laurie Wells – late 30’s. An attractive actor.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
The actors playing Anne and Joe require dance backgrounds. The set requires the kitchen of an antique, well-maintained country home. A film of a lake at different times of day and in different weather conditions changes with the scenes.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
World premiere at The Road Theatre Company
Directed by John Frank Levey
PRODUCTION HISTORY
PRESS
"...Lake Anne is a powerful, emotionally moving play."
– Dennis Spair, The Tolucan Times
"a complex drama that will leave you heavy hearted, but worthy of praise for its wonderfully talented cast."
– Carol Kaufman Segal, StageHappenings.com
"By far the best drama I have seen in many years."
– Nancy Bianconi, NoHoArts District
